Department for Transport

Southeastern Trains: Cleaning Services

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings members of the Board of Southeastern Trains Ltd have held with Churchill Group since the industrial dispute regarding railway cleaners with Churchill began on the Southeastern contract.

Wendy Morton: The South East Train’s Engineering Director met with Churchill’s Senior Team on 4 February 2022 to discuss their current pay arrangements, the upcoming industrial action, and Churchill’s contingency planning for industrial action. A follow-up meeting is planned for Friday 11 March.

Southeastern Trains: Cleaning Services

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether under the terms of the contract between Southeastern Trains Ltd and Churchill Group the contractor continues to be paid if cleaning is disrupted by industrial action.

Wendy Morton: Under Chapter 9.6, Paragraph 1 of the Service Contract between The Secretary of State for Transport, DOHL and South East Trains Limited, the Department is unable to provide confidential commercially sensitive information between a train operator and a third party.

Southeastern Trains: Directors

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all members of the Board of Southeastern Trains Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OLR DfT Holdings Ltd, are entitled to (a) free rail travel or (b) rail staff travel facilities.

Wendy Morton: Members of the South East Train’s Board are not entitled to either free rail travel, or rail staff facilities.

Southeastern Trains: Directors

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the salaries of the (a) Managing Director, (b) Finance Director and (c) Company Director of Southeastern Trains Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OLR DfT Holdings Ltd.

Wendy Morton: Salary details for South East Train’s Directors are expected to be published in Southeastern Train’s Annual Accounts by 31 December 2022 in compliance with the company’s statutory requirements.

Southeastern Trains: Directors

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any of the directors of Southeastern Trains Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OLR DfT Holdings, are also employed in other jobs.

Wendy Morton: My Department can confirm that South East Train’s Directors are not employed in any other paid roles.

Department for Transport: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Andrew Stephenson: There are a number of staff networks and social groups operating within the Department for Transport.These networks and groups are led by volunteers in their free time rather than FTE time being allocated, and this time commitment will vary between the individuals, the networks & clubs/groups depending on level of activity in the group.There is no budget allocated to clubs and groups within the Department for Transport.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Driving Tests

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of waiting times for LGV C1 driving licence tests.

Trudy Harrison: The waiting time is calculated for all vocational tests as a whole. As of 28 February 2022, the national average waiting time was 5.2 weeks for the module 3b (on-road) test.

Travel Restrictions: Disease Control

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the sixth recommendations from the tenth meeting on covid-19 of the World Health Organisation's International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on international traffic bans; and if he will make it his policy to only introduce such bans in extreme circumstances and when data show is it proportionate to do so.

Robert Courts: This is a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care.As part of our long-term plan on living with COVID-19, the Government is developing a contingency toolbox of options to be used at the border, including a more agile toolbox tailored depending on the nature and source of the threat, and deployed only in extreme circumstances where measures are proportionate and effective in slowing ingress to avert pressure on public services such as the NHS. We remain committed to reopening travel in a safe and sustainable way and to provide certainty for travellers in the future.

Aviation: Carbon Emissions

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timeframe is for making a cumulative environmental impact assessment for (a) all UK airports, (b) UK regional airports and (c) total aviation emissions.

Robert Courts: Airport planning applications should be judged by the relevant planning authority, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, including environmental impacts and proposed mitigations.In July 2021, we published the Jet Zero Consultation which outlines our vision for the aviation sector to reach net zero by 2050. The consultation focuses on the rapid development of technologies in a way that maintains the benefits of air travel whilst maximising the opportunities that decarbonisation can bring to the UK. We continue to carefully consider the consultation responses in the development of the final Jet Zero Strategy which is to be published later this year and will set out the framework for reducing aviation emissions from the sector.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Renewable Energy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support (a) a rapid transition to renewable energy sources and (b) other countries with that transition.

Greg Hands: The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the Government’s main mechanism for supporting new low-carbon electricity generation projects in Great Britain. The fourth allocation round of the CfD scheme (AR4) opened on 13 December 2021 and aims to secure more low-carbon electricity capacity than the previous three rounds combined. AR4 is open to an expanded number of renewable technologies, including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, tidal stream and floating offshore wind. In February we also announced that the next CfD allocation round will be brought forward to March 2023, and future rounds will run annually, rather than every two years, thereafter. This will support renewable electricity producers and further drive deployment of renewable power.

Energy: Meters

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the average cost difference between the installation costs and efficiency savings arising from smart meter installation.

Greg Hands: The smart meter rollout is helping consumers manage their energy use while making Great Britain’s energy system cheaper, cleaner and more efficient. After all costs, the smart meter rollout is set to deliver a £6 billion net benefit to Great Britain. The latest estimates of the costs and benefits can be found in the 2019 Cost Benefit Analysis of the smart meter rollout in Great Britain: www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-cost-benefit-analysis-2019.

Timber: Carbon Emissions

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the reports from (a) the European Academies' Science Advisory Council, (b) the Ember think tank and (c) Chatham House which suggest that burning wood pellets risks making climate change worse.

Greg Hands: The Government only supports sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that comply with strict sustainability criteria.

Disability: Finance

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Extra Costs Taskforce will report as scheduled by summer 2022.

Lee Rowley: BEIS are working closely with the Cabinet Office Disability Unit to carry out the engagement with disabled people, regulators and businesses, to ensure we have a full understanding of the issue of extra costs before the Taskforce is formally convened. The commitment to set up the Taskforce is still on track to be delivered by Summer 2022.

Drax Power Station: Timber

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the evidential basis behind the age profile of forests logged for wood pellets used in the Drax power station having remained constant.

Greg Hands: The Government does not hold this information. The Government only supports sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria.

Disability: Consumers

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Extra Costs Taskforce established in the National Disability Strategy will recommend measures to tackle the disproportional impact of increased fuel and food prices on disabled consumers.

Lee Rowley: The taskforce is on track to set up by summer 2022 and we are keen to engage in that process before drawing conclusions.

Social Mobility

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to improve social mobility.

Lee Rowley: I refer my Rt. Hon. Friend to the answer given by my Hon. Friend the Minister for Equalities on 23 February 2022 (Official Report, Column 302-303) to Question 905707.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Information Officers

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in his Department.

George Freeman: The number of staff working in BEIS to deliver the communications functions currently is 104. Eighty seven are employed on full time contracts, 14 are employed on part time. 3 have flexible working arrangements.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Information Officers

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

George Freeman: The pay cost of communications staff for the financial year 2021 to 2022 is £6.86m. This covers all areas of the Communications team – Press Office, Strategic Comms, External Affairs, Digital Comms, Marketing, Internal Comms, administrative support and the BEIS public enquiry contact centre.

Spaceflight: Russia

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has held discussions with OneWeb on the further suspension of future rocket launches from Russia.

George Freeman: The OneWeb Board voted to suspend all the remaining launches of its first generation of satellites, which were scheduled from Baikonur. The Government is reviewing our participation in all further projects involving Russian collaboration extremely carefully in light of the current situation.

OneWeb: Satellites

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of OneWeb’s decision to suspend all satellite launches from Baikonur on the (a) planned timetable for launches and (b) market value of that company.

George Freeman: OneWeb is currently assessing options for alternative launches. The Government is working closely with other shareholders to discuss next steps.

OneWeb: Satellites

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of OneWeb on the decision to suspend all satellite launches from Baikonur.

George Freeman: OneWeb is currently assessing options for alternative launches. The Government is working closely with other shareholders to discuss next steps.

OneWeb: Satellites

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Department has made of the effect of OneWeb's decision to suspend all satellite launches from Baikonur on that company's ability to compete with SpaceEx.

George Freeman: OneWeb is currently assessing options for alternative launches. This exercise is commercially sensitive. The Government is working closely with other shareholders to discuss next steps.

OneWeb

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on the expected timescale for OneWeb delivering a commercial service.

George Freeman: The OneWeb Board has voted to suspend all launches scheduled from Baikonur. OneWeb is currently assessing options for alternative launches. This exercise is commercially sensitive. The Government is working closely with other shareholders to discuss next steps.

Nuclear Weapons: Russia

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on the continuation of Government supported research projects involving Russian collaboration; and if he will conduct an assessment of the implications for his policies on international research collaboration of the invasion of Ukraine.

George Freeman: As I noted on 27 February, BEIS is rapidly reviewing all Russian beneficiaries of UK science, research, technology and innovation funding. This is a fast moving policy area and the Government will provide an update in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

George Freeman: The Department does not hold a central list of all staff networks and social clubs.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Information Officers

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many communications staff in total are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in the Government.

Nigel Adams: This information for the whole of government is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Government Departments: Information Officers

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

Nigel Adams: This information for the whole of government is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Cabinet Office: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Cabinet Office has a range of volunteer staff led staff networks and groups based on workplace disciplines, expertise and common interest areas. These do not have dedicated FTE but are carried out as part of their corporate objective. Central funding is at the discretion of the department and is decided on a case by case basis.Additionally, there are a number of Civil Service employee networks that operate at cross government level, that can request funds for network-related activity from Civil Service HR on an ad-hoc business case basis from wider non-pay related costs. Decisions on granting funds depend on availability and alignment to Civil Service HR strategic priorities.

Chequers: Official Hospitality

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the transparency data relating to Guests to Chequers for the last three years.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the government transparency data routinely published on GOV.UK since May 2010, which is readily accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

Department of Health and Social Care

Dupuytren's Contracture

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of people diagnosed with Dupuytren's contracture in (a) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council area, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of providing its hospital staff with twice weekly covid-19 tests.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Screening

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spent on covid-19 tests for staff in 2020-21.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospital Beds: Young People

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2022 to Question 128439, what estimate he has made of the number of additional beds in units for young people with the most complex needs will be available in each CCG area by the end of 2022 as a result of the £10 million capital funding.

Gillian Keegan: No specific estimate has yet been made.

Dental Services: Contracts

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of NHS dental contract holders in England are currently paid less per unit of dental activity than the band one patient charge of £23.80.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not available in the format requested. A General Dental Services contract or Personal Dental Services agreement covers a range of activity and service. The units of dental activity, against which contracts are monitored, form only part of those arrangements and therefore are not assigned a specific value.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the level of underspend on general practice staff under the Additional Roles Recruitment Scheme was in (a) London and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme is designed to be used for reimbursing the salaries and on-costs of roles included in the Scheme. As private contractors, general practitioners plan their recruitment and workforce decisions.

Nuvaxovid

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will meet to discuss the approval of Nuvaxovid prior to its next scheduled main meeting on the first Wednesday in June 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation COVID-19 immunisation committee meets frequently, including to discuss any newly licensed vaccines by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

NHS: Midwives

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure continuity in NHS midwifery care.

Maria Caulfield: The ambition for the National Health Service in England is for midwifery continuity of carer to be the default model of care for maternity services, and available to all pregnant women. We have committed that by 2024, 75% of women from a black/black British and Asian/Asian British ethnic background and women from the 10% of neighbourhoods that are most deprived nationally will receive continuity of carer.Continuity of carer will be enhanced for women from the most deprived areas and there will be additional midwifery time and/or additional staff dedicated to women from these areas with the highest health and social care needs. In advance of this, most pregnant women from black, Asian and mixed ethnicity backgrounds and also from the most deprived areas will be placed on a continuity of carer pathway in 2022.NHS England and NHS Improvement are investing £6.8 million to support Local Maternity Systems to co-produce and implement their equity and equality action plans, including the implementation of continuity of carer for black, Asian and mixed ethnic groups and those living in the most deprived areas.

Ambulance Services

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ambulance services are at Level 4 REAP in England as at 5 March 2022.

Edward Argar: At 5 March 2022, five ambulance services were at Level 4 REAP.

Urinary Tract Infections

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the NHS Patient Safety Team on proposals to remove the requirement of providers to reference guidance that relates to catheter-acquired urinary tract infections, as set out in the draft NHS Standard Contract consultation.

Edward Argar: There have been no specific discussions. NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that the NHS Standard Contract for 2022/23 continues to require providers to have regard to all relevant national guidance, including from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and guidance related to catheter-acquired urinary tract infections.

Ambulance Services: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hours and minutes a week on average there are no ambulances available to respond to 999 calls in Shropshire.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of a county ambulance service for Shropshire that is not part of the regional ambulance service.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of changes in ambulance response times from 2005 to 2021 following Shropshire becoming part of the regional ambulance service in 2005.

Edward Argar: Data on the average hours and minutes a week ambulances are unavailable to respond to 999 calls in Shropshire is not collected centrally.No assessment of the potential merits of a county ambulance service for Shropshire or changes in ambulance response times has been made. Current ambulance response time standards were introduced in 2017 following the recommendations of the Ambulance Response Programme.

NHS: Vacancies

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the vacancy rate in the NHS is for (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) midwives, (d) other clinicians, (e) healthcare assistants, (f) other patient facing staff and (g) all staff; and what plans he has to fill those vacancies; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: NHS Digital’s data on vacancy rates in National Health Service hospital trusts doctors, registered nurses and all staff in December 2021 shows that there are 110,192 vacancies consisting of 39,652 nursing and midwifery vacancies; 8,158 doctor vacancies; and 62,382 other vacancies. Rates for other clinicians, healthcare assistants, patient facing staff is not held in the format requested. Many of the vacancies will be covered by bank and agency staffWe have funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England and committed to delivering 50,000 more nurses. In July 2021, the Department commissioned Health Education England to review long term strategic trends for the health workforce and regulated professionals in the social care workforce. The Department has also recently commissioned NHS England to develop a workforce strategy and will set out the key conclusions in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care: Social Media

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on social media advertising in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 up to and including 28 February; and on which platforms that money was spent.

Edward Argar: Publicity and advertising spend of over £25,000 is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/spending-over-25-000--2

Ambulance Services: South West

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to improve ambulance response times in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group area.

Edward Argar: In the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group area, three Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers are supporting patient handover at acute hospitals. Agency staffing is supporting front line paramedics on the clinical support desk, providing additional clinical triage to help avoid unnecessary ambulance responses. Staff have been redeployed to the Bristol clinical hub as appropriate to work as call takers, dispatch support clinicians and clinical validation. There has been engagement with acute trusts on handover delay issues, including monthly and daily meetings and information on pressures at acute hospital has been used to inform where ambulance patients are transported to.

Social Services: Coronavirus

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of care providers that are experiencing covid-19 outbreaks as of 3 March 2022.

Gillian Keegan: The information is not available in the format requested, therefore not specific assessment has been made.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of updating guidelines for the administration of covid-19 vaccines to include aspiration before injection.

Maggie Throup: No specific assessment has been made. The UK Health Security Agency’s guidance on immunisation techniques states that it is not necessary to aspirate the syringe after the needle is introduced into the muscle, as there are no large blood vessels at the recommended injection sites. This guidance is consistent with the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The SPCs do not state that aspiration is required prior to injection of the vaccine. As with all recommendations for vaccine administration, this is kept under review in line with the latest available evidence.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing care home staff with twice weekly covid-19 tests.

Maggie Throup: We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

Dental Services

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of routine check-up appointments for NHS dental patients in (a) Southport, and (b) the north-west.

Maria Caulfield: National Health Service dental provision has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced the number of available appointments in practices, including in Southport and the North West, due to necessary infection prevention and control procedures. NHS dentists have been asked to prioritise available capacity for urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care.We continue to monitor the delivery of NHS dentistry. Data for February 2022 indicates that an increasing number of courses of treatment are being delivered, including band 1 treatment and checks ups, in the North West and in the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability and Transformation Partnership area.We have made £50 million available for NHS dentistry in 2021/22 to allow more patients to obtain an NHS dental appointment. Of this, £7,310,000 has initially been made available for the North West . We are currently developing proposals for dental system reform to improve access for patients.

Dental Services: North West

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of NHS patient spaces at dental practices in (a) Southport, and (b) the North-West.

Maria Caulfield: National Health Service dental provision has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced the number of available appointments in practices, including in Southport and the North West, due to necessary infection prevention and control procedures. NHS dentists have been asked to prioritise available capacity for urgent care, care for vulnerable groups and children, followed by delayed planned care.We continue to monitor the delivery of NHS dentistry. Data for February 2022 indicates that an increasing number of courses of treatment are being delivered, including band 1 treatment and checks ups, in the North West and in the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability and Transformation Partnership area.We have made £50 million available for NHS dentistry in 2021/22 to allow more patients to obtain an NHS dental appointment. Of this, £7,310,000 has initially been made available for the North West . We are currently developing proposals for dental system reform to improve access for patients.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office does not operate our own professional staff networks or social clubs; however, our staff have access to networks which are provided by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). MoJ networks include Disability, Carers, Faith, Sexual Orientation and Gender. The Wales Office does not have a budget for staff networks or social clubs and no FTE staff time has been allocated to Wales Office staff networks over the last three years, although staff are encouraged to access MoJ staff networks. Across the Civil Service, employee networks provide a valuable support structure for staff. They promote activities that open up opportunities in the Civil Service for talented civil servants and prospective civil servants, and encourage team working and an inclusive work culture.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Coronavirus

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.

Michelle Donelan: Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, all Civil Service employers have followed government guidance in setting out their internal COVID-19 related policies. This includes complying with the ‘Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)’ guidance, which sets out the key actions organisations should take to protect employees and customers to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in workplaces. This guidance was followed along with carrying out health and safety risk assessments that include the ongoing risk from COVID-19. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19.In line with the government's plans to live with COVID-19, the department does not operate a mask mandate, though to encourage individual liberty, it does support an employee’s individual choice to wear a mask if they would like to. The guidance advises that people continue to wear face coverings in crowded and enclosed settings where they come into contact with people they do not normally meet, when rates of transmission are high. Civil Service employers will continue to follow this guidance and align their policies accordingly.After two years of working from home and hybrid working, all employees are capable of working from home, and we encourage them to follow the government's common sense guidance to work from home if they have COVID-19 and are exhibiting only mild symptoms.

Department for Education: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Michelle Donelan: The department has a variety of staff networks for all employees to join on a voluntary basis.We have 11 core diversity staff networks, these are 50+, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Carers, Disability, EU National, Interfaith, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) +, Neurodivergence, Parents, Social Mobility and Women’s Networks. Each core network has a budget of up to £3,000 per year and network chairs have 10% corporate time allowance for leading network activities.The remaining staff networks do not receive a budget or corporate time allowance, these are Bereavement, Christian, Coaching Community, Eating Disorder, Fertility, Governor and Trustee, Greener, Hindu, Menopause, Positivity Wellbeing Group, Sikh, Vegan, Women of Colour, Working through Cancer, and Young People.Teams or individuals may engage with social activities or clubs outside of work however this is not monitored by the department. Some of our employees are members of the Civil Service Sports Club (CSSC) but we do not have data on membership. CSSC provide sports, leisure, benefits, and discounts to our employees for personal use. Membership costs are paid by employees.

Death: Education

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of education on death, dying and bereavement in (a) primary schools at key stages 1 and 2 and (b) secondary schools at key stages 3 and 4.

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what resources are available nationally to support teachers when discussing death, dying and bereavement in (a) primary schools Key Stages 1 and 2 and (b) secondary schools Key Stages 3 and 4.

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of changes in the level of awareness of death, dying and bereavement among school-age children as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

Will Quince: The department wants to support all young people to be happy, healthy, safe, to equip them for their adult life and to make a positive contribution to society.Schools and colleges have an important role to play in supporting the resilience and mental health of children and young people. We have made relationships education compulsory for all primary school pupils, relationships, and sex education compulsory for all secondary school pupils, and health education compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools from September 2020.Under the topic of physical health and mental wellbeing, the statutory relationship, sex, and health education (RSHE) guidance sets out that teachers should be aware of common adverse childhood experiences. For example, family breakdown, bereavement, exposure to domestic violence, and when and how these may be affecting any of their pupils. This will help teachers to tailor their lessons accordingly, taking decisions on appropriate resources and support to enable them to teach the curriculum effectively. Teachers are free to draw on the support and expertise of subject associations and other providers of curriculum support. The RSHE guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.In response to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and wellbeing, the department accelerated the RSHE teacher training module relating to mental health to be available in July 2020. The department subsequently provided £15 million for the Wellbeing for Education Return and Wellbeing for Education Recovery schemes. These schemes provided training and support for education staff in schools and colleges in how to respond to COVID-19 outbreak issues. They also included a focus on supporting children and young people with bereavement. Local areas continue to share examples of practice and lesson plans covering themes such as bereavement and loss, understanding anxiety and low mood, and actions for building resilience and recovery, with us and each other.The department has made no assessment of the changes in the level of awareness of death, dying, and bereavement among school-age children because of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the department has published its report, which provides an in-depth picture of the experiences of children and young people aged 5 to 24 during the 2020/21 academic year. The report can be accessed here : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2021-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing.

Teachers: Arts and Humanities

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help promote the take up of careers in teaching (a) humanities and (b) arts subjects.

Mr Robin Walker: The number of teachers remains high, with over 461,000 working in state-funded schools across the country, 20,000 more than in 2010. Over 37,000 new trainee teachers were recruited to start training in the 2021/22 academic year. The department is driving an ambitious transformation programme to overhaul the process of becoming a teacher, from stimulating initial interest through world-class marketing through to the start of training. In October 2021, the government’s new digital service, ‘apply for teacher training’, was rolled out. This is a key milestone in the delivery of a more streamlined, user-friendly application route. New data and insight from government services will also drive innovation with a view to boosting recruitment in priority subjects. To promote careers in teaching humanities and arts subjects, the department uses a combination of financial incentives, marketing, and school experience. Trainee teachers on both undergraduate and postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) courses are able to apply for student finance, regardless of the subject they train to teach. This includes a tuition fee loan, maintenance loan and additional means-tested funding for trainees in particular circumstances, including those with children, adult dependants, or a disability. Trainees on employment-based courses are ineligible for student finance as they earn a salary whilst they train instead. In addition, the department is offering a £15,000 tax-free bursary for both languages and geography trainee teachers starting ITT courses in the 2022/23 academic year. The government will review the need for financial incentives across all subjects before announcing the bursaries for the 2023/24 academic year. The department’s teaching marketing campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs people to the ‘Get Into Teaching service’. Through the website, prospective candidates in any phase or subject can access support and advice through expert one-to-one teacher training advisers, a contact centre, and a national programme of events. The ‘get school experience’ digital service also arranges school experience placements between prospective candidates and schools. This service is available here: https://schoolexperience.education.gov.uk/.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Accommodation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many places for prisoners will be created by refurbishment of HMPs (a) Norwich, (b) Birmingham and (c) Liverpool; and if he will publish a timetable for completion of those works.

Victoria Atkins: We are investing £3.8bn over the next three years to deliver 20,000 additional prison place by the mid 2020s. We are on track to deliver these places which include the refurbishments HMP Liverpool and HMP Birmingham and the new houseblock at HMP Norwich.

Aiding and Abetting

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral contribution of the then Under Parliamentary Secretary of State for Justice of 25 January 2018, Official Report column 475, whether his Department has taken steps to increase the data it collects on the number of cases brought under joint enterprise.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Justice only collects information on how many defendants are prosecuted and convicted for each offence in any given year. Currently, information is not collated on whether a prosecution or conviction relied on the law of joint enterprise. Such information may be held on court records but could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The feasibility of collecting data on joint enterprise cases is being considered as part of the development of the Common Platform Programme. The Common Platform aims to provide a single case management system that will enable the sharing of evidence and case information across the Criminal Justice System.

Courts: Standards

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish his Department's estimated projections of reductions in courts backlog by year, over the next five years.

James Cartlidge: We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our courts and tribunals system. We invested a quarter of a billion pounds to support recovery in the last financial year (20/21). We have extended 30 Crown Nightingale courtrooms and opened two new ‘super courtrooms’ in Manchester and Loughborough. We have also removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit this year, and our rapid roll out of video technology means over 70 per cent of all courtrooms are now equipped with the video conferencing hardware to run our Cloud Video Platform, which enabled up to 20,000 cases to be heard virtually every week. These measures are already working – the backlog in the Crown Court has reduced from around 61,000 cases in June 2021 to around 58,400 cases at the end of December 2021. In the recent Spending Review, more than £1 billion has been allocated to boost capacity and accelerate recovery from the pandemic in courts and tribunals. This increased funding will enable us to hear more cases and reduce backlogs.As part of the Spending Review, we will be investing £477 million in the Criminal Justice System over the next three years which will allow us to reduce Crown Court backlogs to an estimated 53,000 by March 2025. In the next financial year, we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases than we did pre-Covid (117,000 in 22/23 compared to 97,000 in 19/20). These are based on internal projections which are produced for the purpose of departmental planning and would therefore not normally be published.

Legal Aid Agency: Finance

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the financial impact on Legal Aid Agency organisations of not yet publishing the funding agreements for the Legal Aid Agency's contracts, expected to commence from September 2022.

James Cartlidge: It is unclear what is meant by the term funding agreements in this context. Payment for legal aid work carried out under the current and any future legal aid contracts is subject to the rates and provisions of published legislation, namely:The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013These regulations are subject to amendment during the life of the contract. Funding for legal aid is on a demand led basis; the Legal Aid Agency does not have a specific budget allocation for delivery of legal aid services under its contracts. Details about future legal aid contracts, including current tender opportunities, are published on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/topic/legal-aid-for-providers/tenders.

Prisoners' Release: Homelessness

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people subject to short custodial prison sentences do not become homeless upon leaving prison.

Kit Malthouse: Our Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our vision that no one who is subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless.There will be a Short Sentence Function implemented in all regions by June 2022 who will work with all people on probation with 10 months or less to serve in prison. This will enable them to be fast tracked and offered direct engagement.All sentenced people (including those on short term sentences) are eligible for support from specialist providers, including accommodation specialists. They will receive support prior to release to address their identified needs, including sustaining tenancies as appropriate. We have introduced a new provision of temporary accommodation and support for up to 12 weeks after release for prison leavers at risk of homelessness. Initially launched in 5 probation regions, we will expand this service nationally. In 2021, we also introduced Housing Specialists in twenty prisons, including four women’s prisons, to support prisons and probation in their strategic response to reducing homelessness. We intend to increase these to 48 across England and Wales, including across the women’s estate.

Prisoners on Remand: Females

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what housing support is provided to women held on remand; and what steps his Department takes to help ensure that people with tenancies do not lose them while in custody.

Kit Malthouse: We know women released from prison face significant barriers to securing suitable accommodation. Earlier support to find accommodation, whilst they are held on remand, can help.Women on remand are supported to meet their immediate resettlement needs and prepare for release by Probation pre-release staff in prisons. We have committed to supplementing the existing support from Probation staff with access to specialist accommodation support, including the sustaining of tenancies as appropriate and finance and debt support, for all women on remand or sentenced in custody. We aim to have commenced this additional provision by the summer of this year. In 2021, we also introduced Housing Specialists in twenty prisons, including four women’s prisons, to support prisons and probation in their strategic response to reducing homelessness. We intend to increase these to 48 across England and Wales, including across the women’s estate.

Prison Accommodation: Construction

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many places will be created by building of additional housing blocks at HMPs (a) Bullingdon, (b) Channings Wood, (c) Elmley, (d) Highpoint, (e) Hindley, (f) Wayland, (g) Guys Marsh and (h) Stocken; and if he will publish a timetable for completion of those blocks.

Victoria Atkins: We are investing £3.8bn over the next three years to deliver 20,000 additional prison place by the mid 2020s. We are on track to deliver these places which include the new houseblocks at HMPS Bullingdon, Channings Wood, Elmley, Highpoint, Hindley, Wayland, Guys Marsh and Stocken.

Prison Officers: Labour Turnover

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the retention rate of experienced prison officers.

Victoria Atkins: HMPPS has created a retention strategy for all staff within the organisation, with a clear focus on Prison Officers. The strategy allows the organisation to review the reasons Prison Officers are choosing to leave and shows us clear areas to improve the employee experience, employee lifecycle and staff engagement at work. This strategy also allows us to look at leaver trends, undertake in-depth exit interviews and use this information to establish the drivers of attrition in HMPPS. Alongside the Retention strategy HMPPS has also introduced a retention toolkit which provides interventions that can be used to address the main drivers of attrition. This ensures that action can be taken to at a local, regional or national level.

Prisoners

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has in place to reduce the number of hours inmates are locked in their cells following the easing of covid-19 restrictions.

Victoria Atkins: Our strategy for managing Covid-19 in prisons continues to be guided by our National Framework, which sets out the basis for decisions on the necessary level of Covid controls over time. We have continued to adjust Covid controls in prisons as the risk has changed during the pandemic and will transition prisons off the National Framework when it becomes safe to do so. As restrictions are lifted in the country at large, we are supporting prisons to remove Covid controls where possible, helping rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. We must also, however, continue to safeguard the health of those in our care, taking account of public health advice, and of the conditions which apply in prisons.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many recommendations from The Lammy Review of the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the Criminal Justice System have been (a) been accepted by his Department and (b) implemented by his Department to date.

Victoria Atkins: The Government published its response to the Lammy Review in 2017. Of the 35 recommendations in the Lammy Review, 33 recommendations were accepted; the two that were not taken forward by Government were related to the independent judiciary (Recommendations 14,16). Actions have been taken against each of the accepted 33 recommendations. Few actions remain incomplete, with those left centred on long-term recruitment targets and developing a more representative workforce within HMPPPS (recommendations 28 and 29). They will need to remain open for some time as they involve long term targets. A detailed update on progress against all the recommendations of the Lammy Review was published in 2018, and again in 2020.

Prisoners: Sexual Offences

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners convicted of (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences were held in a category D open prison as of 18 February 2022.

Victoria Atkins: As of 31 December 2021 (latest available data), the number of prisoners in category D prisons convicted of rape and other sexual offences were 403 and 303 respectively[1]. A life or other indeterminate sentence prisoner is generally moved to open conditions only in response to a recommendation from the independent Parole Board, which conducts a full and thorough risk assessment. Following a decision by the Deputy Prime Minister last year, there will now be greater scrutiny of Parole Board recommendations on open prison moves. The Deputy Prime Minister will oversee the decisions in the most high-risk cases personally. A determinate sentence prisoner is moved to open conditions only after a thorough risk assessment by Prison Service staff.A prisoner who absconds from open conditions is ineligible to return to open conditions for two years following the abscond.Where a prisoner’s behaviour deteriorates or risk escalates, they will be returned to closed conditions.[1] These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Treasury

Treasury: Information Officers

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

Helen Whately: In 2020/21, the last full year that data is available, HM Treasury spent £2,262,976 on the employment of communications staff.

Treasury: Information Officers

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in his Department.

Helen Whately: HM Treasury employs the following communications staff:- 32 full time employees- 2 part time employees

Energy: Prices

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has carried out an equality impact assessment of the measures he has introduced to support energy consumers.

Helen Whately: The Government is providing significant financial support worth up to £350 to the majority of households. This covers more than half of the forecast £700 rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1bn in 2022-23, delivered through a new Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS), a targeted Council Tax rebate, and discretionary funds for Local Authorities. Ministers consider a range of evidence and analysis as part of policy development, including assessments of how options under consideration would affect members of groups with protected characteristics, as part of the Government's aims and duties. The EBSS is still under development. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy will publish a consultation on the detailed implementation of the policy in due course. Ministers will consider a full assessment of the impact of the EBSS as they make final decision on the detailed policy design. The policy development for the Council Tax Rebate included an assessment of how groups with protected characteristics might be affected, in line with the Public Sector Equalities Duty.

Small Businesses: Rural Areas

Bob Seely: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help tackle inflating overhead costs for small and medium businesses in rural and isolated communities.

Helen Whately: As the global economy recovers, many economies are experiencing high inflation, in part due to pressures from rising energy prices and disruptions to global supply chains. These global pressures are the main driver of higher inflation in the UK. We understand the pressure that higher costs place on businesses up and down the UK, and the Government’s commitment to price stability remains absolute. We recognise the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes. Ofgem and Government are in regular contact with business groups and suppliers to understand the challenges they face. The government has also already provided substantial support to small and medium sized businesses through the pandemic such as business rates relief and the Recovery Loan Scheme for SMEs. Over the past two years we have taken unprecedented action to protect millions of businesses. There are over 400,000 more people on payrolls, investment is rising, and monthly business insolvencies have only recently returned to normal after sitting 25% below pre-pandemic levels since April 2020. We are also supporting SMEs to improve their growth and productivity through our innovative Help to Grow programme. Help to Grow will support over 100k SMEs to access subsidised leadership and management training and productivity-enhancing software. We will continue to monitor the wider situation very closely and there is extensive engagement across government on the matter.

Treasury: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Helen Whately: HM Treasury has several staff networks however all networks are run voluntarily meaning no networks receive allocated FTE or budget. HM Treasury employees can join the Civil Service Club or the CSSC however these are external organisations and as such information is not held about them centrally.

Revenue and Customs: Information Officers

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in HMRC.

Lucy Frazer: The number of staff working in HMRC to deliver communications functions is currently 256. 217 are employed on full time contracts and 39 are employed on part time contracts. All staff are considered to have flexible working arrangements.

Revenue and Customs: Information Officers

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HMRC spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

Lucy Frazer: In the latest available financial year, 2020-21, expenditure on communications staffing was £11,456,277.48.

Graduates: Marginal Tax Rates

Imran Hussain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the marginal rate of tax, taking student loan repayments into consideration, will be for a graduate earning over £27,295 after the Government's National Insurance rise and changes to the student loan system are implemented.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the marginal rate of tax, taking student loan repayments into consideration, will be for a graduate earning over £50,270 after the Government's National Insurance rise and changes to the student loan system are implemented.

Lucy Frazer: The Health and Social Care Levy introduces a new 1.25 per cent tax. In the 2022-23 tax year this will be collected via a temporary increase to National Insurance contributions (NICs). Revenue raised will be ringfenced to support UK health and social care bodies.The rate of repayment for student loans remains at 9 per cent on all income above the relevant threshold for Plan 1, Plan 2, and Plan 4 loans. For Post Graduate Loans (PGL) the repayment rate is 6 per cent.In 2022-23, a graduate employee with earnings of £27,295, excluding a PGL loan, will have a marginal deduction rate of 42.25 per cent. This is made up of Income Tax (20 per cent), NICs (13.25 per cent), and Student Loan deduction (9 per cent).In contrast, a graduate employee with earnings of £50,270 would have a marginal deduction rate of 52.25 per cent. This is made up of Income Tax (40 per cent), NICs (3.25 per cent), and Student Loan deduction (9 per cent). Other factors including any reliefs, pension contributions, or receipt of certain means-tested welfare benefits could adjust these marginal deduction rates.

Child Benefit

Lee Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will take steps to reduce the administrative steps involved in assessing child benefit by household income to ensure that families in (a) Ashfield and (b) the UK receive the support they need.

Lucy Frazer: The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) was introduced in January 2013 to target support at those who need it most. It applies to anyone with an income over £50,000 who claims Child Benefit or whose partner claims it. The charge is tapered for taxpayers with incomes between £50,000 and £60,000. Where income is over £60,000, the amount of the charge is equal to the Child Benefit payments. Families where at least one taxpayer has an income over £50,000 can opt out of getting Child Benefit payments, which means they do not have to pay the charge. The HICBC is calculated on an individual rather than a household basis, in line with other Income Tax policy. Basing HICBC on household income would mean finding out the incomes of every person in the 7.8 million households currently registered for Child Benefit. This would effectively introduce a new means test, which would be costly to administer and create burdens on most families who receive Child Benefit.

Transport: Freight

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2022 to Question 115901, what estimate is made of the cost of transport when it is not declared on the customs form, in the context of the cost of transport being required as part of the valuation of the goods for the purposes of VAT and other duties.

Lucy Frazer: Transport costs are a commercial matter between the carrier and their customers. HMRC will not estimate transport costs. It is the responsibility of the declarant to provide the transport costs on their declaration, in accordance with valuation provisions in the Customs (Import Duty) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.

Refugees: Ukraine

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is making funds available to support the care and housing of refugees from Ukraine.

Mr Simon Clarke: The UK has a proud history of providing protection to the most vulnerable people. To support those fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Home Office has launched the Ukraine Family Scheme to allow thousands of families to be reunited in the UK. The Scheme allows immediate and extended family members of British nationals and people settled in the UK to come to the country. Those joining family through the Scheme will be granted leave for 3 years, giving them certainty and ensuring their future in the country. The Scheme is free, and does not include any salary or language requirements. In addition, a new sponsored humanitarian visa route will be established to allow communities, private sponsors, or local authorities to sponsor people to come the UK from Ukraine. The Treasury is working closely with departments across government on the design and funding of these new routes. In addition to these changes to the immigration system, the government has already committed around £400m to support the current crisis in Ukraine. This includes up to £220m in humanitarian aid, making the UK the largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Ukraine. This much-needed humanitarian assistance will help aid agencies respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, saving lives, protecting vulnerable people and creating a lifeline for Ukrainians with access to basic necessities. It also includes a commitment to match-fund the public’s first £20m of donations to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, our largest ever aid-match contribution. UK Government humanitarian experts have also been deployed to the region to bolster the UK's support to countries receiving those fleeing the violence in Ukraine.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ukraine: Refugees

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to provide humanitarian assistance to countries neighbouring Ukraine in the context of the flow of high numbers of refugees from that country.

James Cleverly: As of 8 March, 2 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR [link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine]. These numbers will continue to rise. The UK government has so far pledged £395 million of aid, which includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance, some of which will go to countries neighbouring Ukraine. Our humanitarian support will help partners stand up their responses to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, creating a lifeline for Ukrainians with access to immediate assistance. HMG is also match-funding the public's first £25m of donations to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, our largest ever aid-match contribution.In addition to the humanitarian assistance already mentioned, the UK has deployed humanitarian experts to Poland, Moldova and Romania to provide logistics, advice and analysis of the refugee situation, and a medical assessment team to Romania and Moldova to assess options for rapidly deploying UK Emergency Medical Team (UKEMT) capabilities.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Information Officers

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in her Department.

Vicky Ford: The number of staff working in FCDO to deliver the communications functions currently is between 90 and 99 full time and fewer than 10 part-time staff. Data about individual staff members working patterns are not held centrally.

India: Muslims

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to assess the Indian government's recent reported actions against Muslim women, including legislation around fertility control; and whether the Government has raised concerns with the Indian government on that matter.

Vicky Ford: We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. We are working hand-in-hand with state governments, law enforcement agencies, education authorities and British businesses in India to promote gender equality.The British High Commission in New Delhi monitors all political and societal trends in India. We have noted draft legislation to incentivise limiting population growth in some Indian states. India has a long history of religious tolerance and we trust the Government of India to address the concerns of any people that may be affected by this legislation. Where we have concerns, we will continue to raise them directly with the Government of India.

Shavendra Silva

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of information in the ITJP Submission to meet the required threshold to designate General Shavendra Silva under the Global Human Rights (GHR) Sanctions Regime established on 6 July 2020.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the US Administration on designating Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva under the Global Human Rights (GHR) Sanctions regime.

Vicky Ford: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is grateful for the submission by the International Truth and Justice Project on General Shavendra Silva. We keep all evidence and potential designations under close review. However, it is not appropriate to speculate on future designations under the Global Human Rights Sanctions regime, as to do so could reduce their impact. Sanctions are one response among a number of tools we can deploy.The UK Government, alongside our partners in the Core Group on Sri Lanka including the US, has led international efforts to promote accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. This effort includes the passing of Resolution 46/1 in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to promote and protect human rights, and truth, justice, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. We will continue to seek increased accountability and respect for human rights, including through activities funded under our Conflict, Security and Stability Fund programmes.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Information Officers

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

Vicky Ford: Expenditure on communications staffing in this financial year is expected to be £9 million.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Vicky Ford: a) List of FCDO Staff NetworksIn the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), we have 12 Staff Networks who play a vital role in advocating for change; providing challenge and inspiration; providing support for colleagues and promoting diversity and inclusion. They are not considered in the same way as technical cadres, neither do they operate as such. Our Staff Networks include:1. Young People and Early Professional Network2. FCDO Carers Network3. Disability Inclusion and Awareness Network4. Flexible Working Network5. FCDO Women Network6. International Staff Network7. FCDO FLAG Network (LGBTQ+)8. Mental Health and Wellbeing Network9. Parents Support Network10. Race and Ethnicity Network11. Religion and Belief Network12. Social Mobility Network(i) Budgets allocated to each group within each of the last three yearsFY 2021/22The FCDO Inclusion Unit has set aside a ring-fenced budget (£15,000) to support the work of staff networks.FY 2020/21 - this information is not held as it pre-dates the FCDO merger.FY 2019/20 - this information is not available as it pre-dates the FCDO merger.(ii) FTE staff allocated to each group withinFCDO staff networks are voluntarily organised communities and those who serve as Chairs, do so on a voluntary basis.b) List of Social ClubsThis information is not held.(i) Budgets allocated to each group within each of the last three year;This information is not held.(ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.This information is not held.

Chevening: Official Hospitality

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish the transparency data relating to Guests to Chevening for the last three years.

Vicky Ford: Chevening House is managed by independent trustees. Information about overnight stays by Ministers is not collected centrally.

Afghanistan: Chevening Scholarships Programme

Anne McLaughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Chevening alumni in Afghanistan will be prioritised under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

James Cleverly: The UK Government will consider at risk Chevening alumni, British Council and Gardaworld contractors for resettlement under the third pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme in year one. We plan to exceed our initial aim to resettle 5,000 through ACRS in the first year. Overall the ACRS will provide up to 20,000 people with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.

Developing Countries: Food Supply

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the continued invasion of Ukraine on food security in low and middle income countries.

James Cleverly: The UK is closely monitoring developments in Ukraine. It is difficult to make reliable assessments in such an unpredictable situation, but we recognise the likely impact on food supplies and are encouraging relevant multilateral institutions to prioritise analysis and response options. The crisis could affect prices and exacerbate food insecurity in vulnerable countries. Countries immediately affected are those most dependent on imports from Ukraine and Russia, in particular those that may not have sufficient options for substitution in the short term. We have encouraged our G7 partners to consider a policy and programming response that mitigates the risk of a global food price crisis and protects food security.

Anton Hammerl

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her has made to the Libyan authorities on the killing of photojournalist Anton Hammerl in that country in April 2011.

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) locate and (b) repatriate the remains of Anton Hammerl to his family in London.

James Cleverly: I am saddened by the tragic circumstances in which Mr Hammerl lost his life whilst in Libya and send my sincere condolences to his family and friends. The UK condemns, and is committed to raising, violations of media freedom across the world at all levels. Journalists should be able to do their jobs without fear of retaliation or harm. We believe that those who seek to harm journalists or restrict their ability to work should be held to account.The FCDO is only able to provide consular assistance to British nationals so cannot provide it to Mr Hammerl, as he was a dual national of Austria and South Africa. It would be incumbent on those countries to raise Mr Hammerl's case with the Libyan government.

Gabon: Elections

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the risk of a coup in Gabon in 2022; and what steps she is taking to help ensure that free and fair elections can be held in that country.

Vicky Ford: We monitor developments in Gabon from our High Commission in Yaoundé (in Cameroon). We are aware of recent speculation in the British media about threats of a coup in Gabon. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. On elections, we stand ready to support the electoral process, working with international partners, including the EU and UN, in coordination with the Government of Gabon and call for all parties to engage constructively in the elections and uphold democratic principles including the rule of law.

Ukraine: Refugees

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department's safeguarding team is working with NGOs to help protect refugees from people smugglers at the Ukraine border; and what measures have been put in place to help prevent people smuggling in that area.

James Cleverly: Modern slavery and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes that the government is committed to tackling. We will continue to coordinate law enforcement efforts by working closely with EU partners to target trafficking routes across Europe, provide protection to the most vulnerable and take tough action against those who seek to exploit people for financial gain.The total UK aid to Ukraine and the region for the current crisis totals £395 million, including £220 million of humanitarian assistance. We are working to ensure aid agencies are able to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £100 million, with the government matching £25 million of the publics donations. This is our largest ever aid-match contribution, which will help DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.

Eastern Europe: British Nationals Abroad

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide UK citizens with expert volunteer humanitarian assistance in (a) Ukraine, (b) Poland, (c) Slovakia, (d) Romania and (e) Hungary.

James Cleverly: As of 8 March, 2 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR [link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine]. These numbers will continue to rise. The UK government has so far pledged £395 million of aid, which includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance, some of which will go to countries neighbouring Ukraine. Our humanitarian support will help partners stand up their responses to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, creating a lifeline for Ukrainians with access to immediate assistance. HMG will also match-fund the public's first £25m of donations to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, our largest ever aid-match contribution.In addition to the humanitarian assistance already mentioned, the UK has deployed humanitarian experts to Poland, Moldova and Romania to provide logistics, advice and analysis of the refugee situation, and a medical assessment team to Romania and Moldova to assess options for rapidly deploying UK Emergency Medical Team (UKEMT) capabilities.

China: Russia

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions China on withdrawing that country's (a) current and (b) future economic support for Russia.

James Cleverly: The Foreign Secretary spoke with her Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi, on Friday 25 February. In the call, the Foreign Secretary underlined that the UK expects China to stand up for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged China to uphold its commitment to the UN Charter. The world is watching to see whether China's actions contribute to peace and stability, or to fuelling aggression.

Hungary and Poland: Open Society Foundations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has received any representations from the Open Society Foundation on the governments of (a) Poland and (b) Hungary.

James Cleverly: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has not received any representations from or been provided with any information from the Open Society Foundation about Poland or Hungary.The UK has a long track record of supporting democracy and inclusive governance. We are committed to working with partners and allies across the world, including civil society, to support more open, inclusive and accountable governance. And, we are working with friends and allies to build a network of liberty, to promote democracy and freedom across the globe.

Hungary and Poland: Open Society Foundations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the British embassies in Warsaw and Budapest have made representations to the governments of Poland and Hungary regarding information provided by the Open Society Foundation.

James Cleverly: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has not received any representations from or been provided with any information from the Open Society Foundation about Poland or Hungary.The UK has a long track record of supporting democracy and inclusive governance. We are committed to working with partners and allies across the world, including civil society, to support more open, inclusive and accountable governance. And, we are working with friends and allies to build a network of liberty, to promote democracy and freedom across the globe.

Russia: Export Controls

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to widen export limits of luxury goods to and from Russia.

James Cleverly: We have already implemented a set of measures to strengthen significantly our trade restrictions against Russia. On 28 February we legislated to ban the export of all dual-use list items to Russia. We have also prohibited the export of a range of high-end and critical technical equipment and components in sectors including electronics, telecommunications, and aerospace. These measures will have strategic impact, constraining Russia's military-industrial and technological capabilities for years to come. However, nothing is off the table. We are working with our international partners to identify further areas where concerted action will have a maximum impact on Putin's regime.

Ukraine: British Nationals Abroad

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to monitor UK citizens who travel to Ukraine to volunteer in (a) defence and (b) humanitarian work.

James Cleverly: The UK is not supporting British nationals going to Ukraine to fight in the conflict. We advise against travel to Ukraine and anyone who travels to conflict zones to engage in unlawful activity should expect to be investigated upon their return to the UK.

Jerusalem: Palestinians

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Israeli counterpart on reports of forced evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan.

Amanda Milling: In all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. On 19 January, Minister James Cleverly urged the Government of Israel to stop these practices. The UK raises these issues with the Government of Israel, most recently with Israel's Ministry of Defence on 20 January and Ministry of Justice on 27 January.

Cayman Islands: Money Laundering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take in response to the Cayman Island's addition to the EU’s list of high-risk countries for anti-money laundering.

Amanda Milling: All inhabited Overseas Territories (OTs), including the Cayman Islands, are fully committed to meeting international standards on anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, including those set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The UK supports the OTs in meeting these standards. Following its FATF evaluation in 2019, Cayman was given an extensive list of recommendations and made huge progress on these. Cayman was listed by the FATF in 2021 on the basis of the limited number of outstanding deficiencies, and similarly by the EU in 2022. FATF has since recognised that one deficiency has already been addressed. Cayman is also either 'compliant' or 'largely compliant' with all of FATF technical recommendations on anti-money laundering. We welcome the substantial progress made to date by the Cayman Islands Government and their commitment to address the remaining areas identified by the FATF and the EU. The OTs have demonstrated that they are responsible jurisdictions, with a strong track record of full cooperation with the UK in matters relating to taxation, fighting financial crime and countering terrorist finance.

Russia: Ukraine

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the comments of Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of the land-based armed forces of Uganda, on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Vicky Ford: We are very concerned about the comments made by Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Our High Commission in Kampala is working closely with the Government of Uganda on the response to the Ukraine crisis. Deputy Foreign Minister, Henry Okello Oryem, issued a public statement stating that Kainerugaba's comments were not in line with the Government policy. We will continue to encourage the international community to unite on Putin's callous actions. Putin's war of choice is based on a series of lies. Russia continues to use disinformation to attempt to justify its military action against Ukraine. In total, more than 100 different stories promoting unfounded claims around pre-texts for invasion were identified being disseminated by Kremlin-controlled media in February. This is a transparent attempt at disinformation and to provide a pretext for military action.

Nigeria: Police

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) support the progress of the Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Nigeria.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government was deeply concerned by violence during the #EndSARS protests. We continue to monitor progress of the judicial panels of inquiry and have publicly reiterated the importance of transparency and accountability. We have also called for the transparent publication of all reports and stressed the importance of ensuring all alleged incidents of brutality by the security services are investigated fully, and the need for anyone found responsible to be held to account. We continue to call on the Nigerian police to uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations and the UK Government will continue to follow all developments closely.We continue to advocate for, and support, security sector reform in Nigeria. I visited Nigeria in February, and discussed the importance of human rights in my meetings with the Federal Government of Nigeria. During the recent UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (S&DP) Dialogue, we hosted a Human Rights forum, at which the UK agreed future cooperation with Nigeria on topics including: human rights and policing; human rights in conflict, including compliance from security forces; and women, peace and security.

Nigeria: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2022 to Question 117762, Nigeria: Development Aid, (a) which organisations will deliver the human rights training on sexual and gender-based violence to (i) the military in Nigeria and (ii) the police in Nigeria, and (b) what is the estimated number of (i) police officers and (ii) military personnel who will be given the training in Nigeria by the end of 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF)-funded human rights training on sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria will be delivered by the Centre for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC); the British Defence Section (BDS); the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); and the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Regional Stabilisation Facility. Figures are only available for 2021-2022; we estimate that over 650 police officers and over 3000 military personnel will receive training from CIVIC, UNDP and BDS by the end of the year. Additional military personnel will receive the ICRC delivered International Humanitarian Law/human rights training, which is integrated into British-military training courses run by Operation Turus.

Burkina Faso: Elections

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the acceptability of the announced three-year transition period prior to elections in Burkina Faso following the coup of January 2022; and what steps she is taking to engage with (a) partner countries in the region, (b) ECOWAS and (c) the African Union following that announcement.

Vicky Ford: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer of 2 March 2022 to question 127412 with regards to the situation in Burkina Faso. We are monitoring the political and security situation closely, and working with partners, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, to encourage continued dialogue around a mutually acceptable timeframe for elections.I set out the UK's continued support for regional mediation efforts by ECOWAS in a meeting with ECOWAS President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, in Abuja on 22 February. I also discussed the situation in Burkina Faso with Ghana's Foreign Minister, Shirley Botchwey, in Accra on 24 February.

Guinea-Bissau: Politics and Government

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of responsibility for the attack on the offices of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde in Guinea-Bissau on 26 February 2022.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government was pleased to see calm restored in Guinea-Bissau following the attempted coup d'etat on 1 February. We are aware of reports of an attack on the offices of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, and continue to monitor the situation from our Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. Those responsible for violence must be held to account.

Somalia: Sanctions

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her US counterpart on potential individual sanctions on people in Somalia suspected of obstructing the timeliness, freedom, or fairness of elections taking place in that country.

Vicky Ford: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer of 10 January 2022 to question 98238 with regards to the political situation in Somalia. The UK continues to work with the US and other international partners to promote stability in Somalia, including to encourage rapid completion of the electoral process. The UK takes account of the full range of policy tools at our disposal to promote these goals, protect human rights and discourage challenges to peace, security and electoral processes.

Ukraine: Foreign Relations

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to encourage countries that have yet to declare full support for Ukraine and remain neutral to demonstrate that support following the invasion of that country by the Russian state.

James Cleverly: The Foreign Secretary is leading work with our international partners to deliver a united response against Russian actions and the recent UN vote is a demonstration of that continued effort. Russian aggression will have a massive human cost, causing death, displacement and destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government.

Ministry of Defence

Poland: Sky Sabre

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many units of the Sky Sabre radars have been deployed to Poland; when those air defence systems will arrive; and for how long will be deployed in that country.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Afghanistan: Repatriation

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help relocate vulnerable Afghans and British nationals from third countries to the UK.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Undocumented Migrants

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support the Home Office to tackle illegal immigration.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Protective Clothing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that all Armed Forces personal protective equipment can be provided to Ukraine.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Defence: Social Media

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on social media advertising in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 up to and including 28 February; and on which platforms that money was spent.

Leo Docherty: Departmental spend on social media advertising is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Directorate of Defence for Communications (DDC) spend on social media communication for the period requested is shown in the table below. All DDC expenditure was on Facebook and Instagram facilitated through Facebook.  YearTotal DDC Social Media Advertising2019£11,939.352020£39,858.412021£49,083.902022£9,997.84

Ministry of Defence: Devonport Dockyard

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants at the Ministry of Defence Devonport identify as having a disability.

Leo Docherty: The disability breakdown of civil servants at the Ministry of Defence Devonport is shown in the below table: Disability DeclarationHeadcount 1-October-21Disability75No Disability625Choose Not To Declare60Undeclared150Total905 Results are rounded to the nearest five. Rounding has been applied to individual numbers, so the rounded sum of values may not reflect the sum of the other figures presented.

Ministry of Defence: Devonport Dockyard

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants at Ministry of Defence Devonport have previously served in the Armed Forces.

Leo Docherty: This information is not held. The Ministry of Defence does not routinely maintain a record of an employee's prior employment or collect or hold information on all veterans, and where they take up employment post service.

Ministry of Defence: Devonport Dockyard

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the ethnicity of civil servants hired by Minister of Defence Devonport in the last two years.

Leo Docherty: The Ethnicity declaration of civil servants hired by Ministry of Defence Devonport in the last two years is shown in the below table: Ethnicity Declaration12 Months to 1-October-2012 Months to 1-October-21TotalBAME~~5White7080150Choose Not To Declare~55Undeclared52530Total80115190  Results are rounded to the nearest five. Rounding has been applied to individual numbers, so the rounded sum of values may not reflect the sum of the other figures presented. Numbers less than five have been supplemented with a tilde (~)

Ministry of Defence: Devonport Dockyard

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the average age of civil servants at Ministry of Defence Devonport.

Leo Docherty: The mean average age of Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants at MOD Devonport is 46 years old.

Challenger Tanks

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what review is being undertaken of the development of a new Main Battle Tank to replace Challenger 2 in response to the deployment of Russian armour in Ukraine.

Jeremy Quin: The Challenger 3 (CR3) programme is already underway. The programme will upgrade 148 of our existing CR2 Main Battle Tanks; these upgrades include a digitalised turret, a more capable smooth bore gun with enhanced munitions, upgraded sights, upgraded armour along with additional survivability enhancements. CR3 currently is scheduled to enter service in 2027.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department is taking steps to support academic research on the impact of social security sanctions on the mental health of recipients.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish her Department's assessment of the impact of social security sanctions on the mental health of recipients.

Mims Davies: The Department have made no assessment of the impact of social security sanctions on the mental health of recipients. The Department supports research on a range of areas and will consider each project or application on its merit.Sanctions are only applied where a claimant fails to comply with a mandatory requirement set out in their claimant commitment such as a failure to attend an appointment. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

Social Security Benefits: Voluntary Work

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people claiming legacy benefits face limitations on time they may spend volunteering, whilst they meet the conditions for receiving their payments.

Mims Davies: There are no limitations on the amount of time that people claiming legacy benefits (Employment Support Allowance, Income Support and Income Related Jobseekers Allowance) can spend volunteering providing they meet the conditions for receiving their benefit payments, which may include giving up voluntary work to take up paid employment. We appreciate how volunteering can help claimants develop skills necessary to progress into paid employment, as well as boost confidence, and provide more workplace experience to add to their CV.

Social Security Benefits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of serious harm were considered by her Department as potential cases for investigation under an internal process review where a decision was made not to hold one, in each year since 2010-11.

Chloe Smith: We do not hold records of cases where an Internal Process Review (IPR) was not started.

Unemployment: West Midlands

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce unemployment rates across the West Midlands.

Mims Davies: Throughout the pandemic, the UK Government has provided over £400 billion to support the economy, including funding for our Plan for Jobs. The Kickstart Scheme has enabled young people to move into employment, with many of these securing permanent jobs. Alongside this, the Restart Scheme offers a fresh start to those who have been unemployed for over 9 months. The scheme breaks down employment barriers that could potentially prevent jobseekers from finding work. In addition, to support those who may need extra help, we are delivering the following employability programmes; Job Entry Targeted Support, Intensive Personalised Employment Support and Work & Health Programme. Way to Work is a campaign to help half a million job ready claimants into work by the end of June 2022. We are building on the success of Kickstart to work closely with employers and aim to move claimants into work quicker; through recruitment days, job fairs and work trials. We will be stepping up our expectations of claimants and taking a robust approach to ensure agreements made through the Claimant Commitments are adhered to. In addition, our jobcentre teams are helping employers find the right people for their vacancies, particularly through the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), Skills Bootcamps, Apprenticeships and Traineeships. For example, the local team are working with the West Midlands Mayoral Authority to help equip people with the skills needed to fill vacancies for the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Across the West Midlands, Jobcentres work collaboratively with the National Career Service (NCS) and Further Education Colleges to provide careers information, advice, and guidance so that jobseekers can make informed decisions on learning, training, and work. Collaborating with partners such as the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the seven West Midlands Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and local Chambers of Commerce, to progress our strategic aims to increase diversity in the workplace, promote Disability Confident to reduce the disability gap in the workplace and increase skills provision in those sectors that are experiencing labour shortages.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon Member for High Peak, dated 27 October 2021, with reference RL29961.

Mims Davies: DWP provided a response to the office of Robert Largan MP on 4 March 2022.

Kickstart Scheme: St Helens

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Kickstart scheme opportunities have been (a) made available and (b) started in (i) St Helens North constituency and (ii) St Helens Metropolitan Borough, as of 4 March 2022.

Mims Davies: As of 3rd March 2022, 270 jobs have been made available and 240 jobs have been started in St Helens North constituency through the Kickstart scheme. In addition, 730 jobs have been made available and 500 jobs have been started in St Helens Metropolitan Borough.Although care is taken when processing and analysing Kickstart applications, referrals and starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, which has been developed quickly.The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency. Work is ongoing to improve the quality of information available for the programme.

Children: Maintenance

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to improve the Child Maintenance System to ensure that inaccurate statements are not produced while a case is under review.

Guy Opperman: Financial statements issued at any point within the lifecycle of a child maintenance case reflect the amount of child maintenance due and paid at that point in time. The account balances will only be updated once any change of circumstances have been accepted and processed. It is important to note that most change of circumstances have evidential requirements and we cannot assume that requests for review will be accepted whilst they are outstanding.

Children: Maintenance

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase collection rates of child maintenance payments.

Guy Opperman: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers.There has been a consistent downward trend in the proportion of unpaid maintenance as a proportion of maintenance arranged, falling from 12.5% in 2017 to 8.5% in September 2021

Employment: Autism

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support more autistic people into employment.

Chloe Smith: The Government has ambitious plans to support disabled people and people with health conditions to achieve their full potential and live better for longer. In 2017, we committed to seeing 1 million more people with disabilities into employment by 2027. In the first four years we saw an increase of 850,000. We have also pledged to narrow the disability employment gap, and this has reduced by 4.8 percentage points since 2013. The Government’s “National Strategy For Autistic Children, Young People And Adults: 2021 – 2026” specifically recognised the importance of employment support for autistic people. Some key actions are outlined below. Starting this autumn, we will invest £7.2m in Local Supported Employment services, working with around 20 Local Authorities to enable more social care users with learning disabilities and autism to access the support needed to help them get into work and remain in employment. We are working with the National Autistic Society to test ways to make Jobcentres more autism-inclusive. We have strengthened our Disability Employment Adviser role, delivering direct support to claimants who require additional work related support and supporting all work coaches to deliver tailored, personalised support to claimants with a disability or health condition including those with autism. Access to Work offers disabled customers, including those with autism, tailored packages of support and advice to help them access or remain in work. The Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme provides highly personalised packages of employment support for disabled people who want to work but have complex needs or barriers and require specialist support to achieve sustained employment such as autism. The Labour Force Survey questionnaire now includes a question about autism. This allows us to track improvements in the employment status for people with autism, Through the Disability Confident scheme, DWP is engaging with employers and helping to promote the skills, talents and abilities of people with autism.

Department for Work and Pensions: Industrial Accidents

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance is given to her Department’s staff on the (a) circumstances in which incidents of death and serious harm should be referred to be considered for an internal process review and (b) process for making a referral of that kind.

Chloe Smith: The Department commissions Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) in response to a range of circumstances or events. The IPR process involves bringing together a range of relevant subject matter experts to make recommendations at either local or national level. The Department has created an IPR Focal Point to provide advice and assist colleagues when making a referral. A specific IPR electronic referral form is available to all colleagues and when completed is sent direct to the IPR team. The referral form prompts the colleague for the claimant’s details together with the reason for referral. The criteria for conducting an IPR is as follows: o a customer has suffered serious harm, has died (including by suicide), or where we have reason to believe there has been an attempted suicide.o AND there is a suggestion or allegation the Department’s actions or omissions may have negatively contributed to the customer’s circumstances.o OR the Department is asked to participate in a local authority-led Safeguarding Adults Board or is named as an Interested Party at an Inquest (regardless of whether there is an allegation against the Department).

Medical Certificates

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing (a) midwives, (b) allied health professionals, (c) nurse practitioners  and (d) other health care professionals to complete fit notes.

Chloe Smith: In July 2021, the government set out plans to deliver transformation of the fit note including removing the requirement to sign in ink (from April 2022) and committing to amending regulations to allow a wider range of eligible professionals to sign fit notes (planned for Summer 2022).As part of this ongoing process, in order to assess which healthcare professions are in scope to complete fit notes, we have consulted closely with DHSC and clinical experts. Additionally, as part of the planned policy changes, we will subsequently undertake relevant monitoring.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many safeguarding leaders her Department has appointed.

Chloe Smith: Since 2020, the Department has appointed 36 Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders (ACSSLs) across Great Britain; these roles were previously known as Senior Safeguarding Leaders.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the public update by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman of 18 February 2022 regarding its investigation into the way her Department communicated changes to women’s State Pension age, whether her Department has submitted the evidence requested by the Ombudsman.

Guy Opperman: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has not completed his investigation. It would not be appropriate to comment whilst the investigation is ongoing; and section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle fraudsters who seek to exploit the benefits system.

David Rutley: The Department takes benefit fraud very seriously and is taking a wide range of steps to tackle fraud, as well as seeking to actively prevent it.In addition to having dedicated teams to investigate cases of suspected fraud, we continue to invest in innovative measures to combat fraud, focussing wherever possible on preventing it entering the benefit system in the first place.To this end, the Department successfully secured additional funding of £613m last year, recognising and supporting the steps we have already made in tackling Fraud and Error, enabling us to make a significant impact towards reducing levels of fraud and error in DWP, more effective collection of debt and providing effective counter fraud operations on a larger scale.In particular, it will support the development of several new initiatives to:Drive down the level of fraud and error in Universal Credit (UC) through a targeted review of UC claims. This allows us to systematically review stock UC cases to immediately uncover fraud and error and remove it from the system.Target hard to collect debt through the formation of a new Debt Enforcement Function.Continue our recruitment into the Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate (CFCD) up to 9,500 FTE so that we can continue to respond quickly and effectively to threats. Where fraud does enter the benefit system, we take action to recover the money and apply appropriate penalties, including prosecution.

Universal Credit: Proof of Identity

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what alternatives are available to universal credit claimants who do not have the currently requested identity documents to make and verify their claims.

David Rutley: Claimants can verify their identity in several ways, including online using the Government Gateway service or GOV.UK and by providing documentary evidence of their identity when they attend their Initial Evidence Interview. If a claimant does not have documentary evidence we can verify their identity by biographical tests and checks, using information held on the Department’s systems, by the confirmation of third party organisations and by two members of the Jobcentre staff knowing and recognising the claimant as part of their work. In addition, the Flexible Support Fund can be used to support the claimant obtain new identity documents in the form of duplicate driving licences, birth certificates etc, and can help with opening new bank accounts if necessary. Universal Credit guidance is routinely placed in the House of Commons library and it is updated at regular intervals. This guidance covers the different ways a claimant might verify their identity.

Workplace Pensions: Young People

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the amount of income tax relief that would fall on the 18 to 21 age group in the event that the auto-enrolment of pensions was extended to that age group.

Guy Opperman: The findings from the 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment estimated preliminary analysis of the policy option and showed that a reduction of the lower age limit to 18 would have increased income tax relief for those aged 18-21 by £113m upon its full introduction. A full and published impact assessment on the policy options will be completed at a time when legislation is brought forward.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Dupuytren's Contracture

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Dupuytren's contracture have been awarded Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit in (a) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council area, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Chloe Smith: The Department publishes monthly statistics on assessments of claims made to the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit scheme every three months on Stat-Xplore. The statistics are available by decision type and prescribed disease which, from December 2019, includes Dupuytren's Contracture. The latest statistics are available to June 2021 and can be broken down to various geographies here:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Universal Credit: Deductions

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claimants had deductions made to their monthly payment in the most recent month for which figures are available by (a) advance payments, (b) benefit overpayments, (c) categories of third party debt deductions and (d) other types of deductions.

David Rutley: The Government recognises the importance of supporting the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. We seek to balance recovery of debt and advance payment against not causing hardship for claimants and their families. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and customers can contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances. In April 2021, we reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance enabling them to retain more of the award. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties. Advances are a claimant’s benefit entitlement paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront. They are not a debt. They ensure nobody has to wait for a payment in Universal Credit and those who need it are able to receive financial support as soon as possible. Claimants can receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit award if required, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. The requested information is provided in the attached spreadsheet.Attachment PQ 128438 (xlsx, 20.2KB)

Universal Credit: Prisoners' Release

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to women leaving prison on signing up for universal credit.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches who specialise in working with women leaving prison are currently employed by her Department.

David Rutley: DWP continues to contribute to cross-government work to improve support for female offenders through the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) led Female Offender strategy and the Female Concordat. We provide a range of support to help ex-offenders re-establish themselves back in the community and into work. DWP’s offer is gender neutral, covering both male and female offenders, tailored to their specific individual needs. We are therefore unable to provide the number of work coaches who specialise in working with women prison leavers. Around 200 Work Coaches are based in prisons across Great Britain, provide benefit advice before release, including booking an appointment at the local jobcentre on or soon after the day of release for those who intend to make a Universal Credit claim. There is also a dedicated National Prison Leaver telephone claim line for those who are unable to claim online. As part of our commitment in the recently published Prisons White Paper, this year DWP and MoJ will work together to test different approaches to preparing Universal Credit claims and claimant commitments before release in 15 prisons, including female prisons, with a view to rolling out across the prison estate by 2024.

Poverty: Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what fiscal steps she is taking to tackle levels of child poverty in (a) families with three or more children and (b) other families in response to rising costs of living.

David Rutley: This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting all low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. In 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, and the new 'Way to Work’ campaign is a national drive to get half a million people who are out of work into jobs in the next four months. The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, including help for working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. We are increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour, cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing the Work Allowance to make sure work pays, freezing fuel duties to keep costs down, and providing targeted support to help households with their energy bills. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices. To support low income families further, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. We are also investing over £200m a year to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.

Universal Credit: Prisoners' Release

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the impact of the five week wait for universal credit on the wellbeing of (a) women from marginalised backgrounds leaving prison and (b) all women leaving prison.

David Rutley: When claimants are paid Universal Credit is determined by the date of entitlement.Where there is an immediate need for financial support, Universal Credit advances can be paid on the same day the claim is made, up to 100% of the estimated Universal Credit award during their first assessment period. This advance can then be repaid over a period of 24 months.Advances are paid quickly, and prison leavers can apply for them online or by using the dedicated National Universal Credit phone line which gives quick access to the benefit system for those unable to claim online.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has produced an impact assessment on the setting of UK limits for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels above those in WHO guidance.

Jo Churchill: An Impact Assessment was carried out in 2010 when the UK transposed the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC into UK Legislation, the 'Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010'. These Regulations set limit values for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide concentrations. This Impact Assessment can be found at the following URL: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1001/impacts We are taking an evidence-led process to set our new air quality targets through the Environment Act 2021 (applicable to England). An Impact Assessment will be published as part of the upcoming public consultation on this and other targets under the Act.

Direct Marketing

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce paper junk mail in the context of tackling climate change.

Jo Churchill: The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy, published in 2018, sets out how we will better manage our material resources by minimising waste, promoting resource efficiency and moving towards a circular economy. We are keen to ensure that goods and materials are kept in circulation for as long as possible and last year we consulted on a new ‘Waste Prevention Programme for England: Towards a Resource Efficient Economy'. We expect to publish a new Programme shortly. We do not have any specific policy initiatives focusing on junk mail. To reduce unsolicited mail, individuals can register with services such as the Mailing Preference Service, or that run by the Royal Mail. A “no junk mail” notice may also be effective in deterring hand delivery of unwanted advertising material.

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of local authorities that have areas with levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide that are above (a) UK limits and (b) WHO guidance.

Jo Churchill: Under the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010, Defra undertakes an annual assessment of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. In September 2021, Defra published the latest ‘Air Pollution in the UK’ report, detailing the results of this assessment, and is available through the following URL:https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/annualreport/air_pollution_uk_2020_issue_1.pdf. Local authorities carry out air quality monitoring as part of the Local Air Quality Management process and provide Defra with annual reports on the status of air quality within their local authority boundary. Summary statistics for all their air quality measurements can be found within their annual status report, publicly available on the website of the respective local authority.

Forests and Wildlife: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set out a (a) timeframe and (b) strategy for taking forward the recommendations set out in the report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, entitled Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit Report: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published in August 2021.

Rebecca Pow: We welcome this report and the fact that it recognises the UK's global leadership in fighting wildlife and forestry crime. We invited the UN to undertake this analysis and we are proud to be the first G7 country to request this assessment.We will carefully consider all of the recommendations to help us build on the positive progress we have already made in tackling wildlife crime. This will include strategic engagement with our partners that have responsibilities where individual recommendations are concerned such as the devolved administrations, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the National Wildlife Crime Unit.Many of the resourcing recommendations fall outside of Defra's remit but progress has already been made in response to the report, for example with Border Force increasing numbers in their team specialising in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Defra is reviewing the UNODC's assessment and will identify where we can act with stakeholders to strengthen the UK's approach to tackling wildlife and forestry crime.

5G: Insects

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of 5G on insect populations.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has funded national and global assessments of the status of pollinating insects and the factors driving changes in their populations. These assessments do not identify 5G as a driver. Defra has not undertaken any formal assessment of the potential effect of the roll out of the 5G network on insects, other animals or other wildlife. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is the lead Department for 5G roll out and I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Stroud, Dr David Drew, on 29 May 2019 to PQ 256919.

Hedgehogs: Conservation

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to bring forward plans to strengthen the legal protection of the hedgehog.

Rebecca Pow: This Government is committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030, through a world-leading legally binding target under the Environment Act. We will shortly be publishing a Green Paper to look at how we can drive the delivery of that target, including through our sites and protections for species, such as the hedgehog. Other actions under the Environment Act are likely to support species like hedgehogs, such as biodiversity net gain for development including nationally significant infrastructure projects. Local Nature Recovery Strategies will also help identify and drive local actions to protect and recover species at a scale that will be beneficial to species such as the hedgehog. Our new environmental land management schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices, creating and preserving habitat such as such as woodland, heathland and species-rich grassland, as well as making landscape-scale environmental changes, all of which could benefit species such as hedgehog.

Flood Control

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that natural flood management measures are located in optimum areas under all three Environment Land Management schemes.

Victoria Prentis: The new environmental land management schemes will include support for farmers and land managers to manage land and water in a way that reduces flooding and coastal erosion risks to local communities. Many natural flood management activities must be targeted to ensure that benefits are maximised and environmental damage is avoided. Ensuring we take the right actions in the right places (spatial prioritisation) is a combination of data, modelling, local knowledge and partnerships, guidance, and specialist advice. We are in the process of developing our approach to spatial prioritisation for the new schemes, which includes consideration of the role of Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and will be providing more information about the Department’s work in this space over the coming months.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Victoria Prentis: We have the following professional staff networks and social clubs operating within the Department: Age Diversity NetworkCarers’ NetworkDisability Network (including Dyslexia and Neurodiversity)Chronic Pain NetworkFatigue NetworkInflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) NetworkStammering NetworkWorking through cancer networkFaith and belief networkWomen’s NetworkJob Share NetworkParental Leave Buddy NetworkSolo Parents’ NetworkWork Life Balance Network (WLBN)Male Allyship NetworkEthnic Minority Network (EMN)EU Nationals NetworkRespect at workBullying, Harassment and Discrimination Support NetworkLesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Asexual and Transgender Network (LGBA&T)Social Mobility NetworkMental Health NetworkSports and social associationProfessions Network - groups of individuals with common skills, experience and expertiseSustainability network; andCivil Service Retirement Fellowship Budgets are not officially allocated at such low levels. Each year we allocate £20,000 to the EDI Networks, which is distributed according to need. We are unable to provide details of these allocations. Due to ad hoc membership, we are unable to provide details of the number of staff time allocated to each network.

Home Office

Visas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to ensure that new guidelines to replace Tier 1 investor visas make provision for appropriate safeguarding of people who are deemed to be a threat to national security.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Eritrea

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of provisions in the Nationality and Borders Bill on Eritrean victims of (a) religious persecution and (b) torture who are seeking asylum in the UK.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to make decisions on asylum claims that are older than three years.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Interviews

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time for scheduling of an asylum substantive interview was over the past five years.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Visas: Ukraine

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's guidance on applying for Ukraine Family Scheme visas, if she will make it her policy to include surrogate mothers who are carrying the children of British nationals in the list of eligible family members.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immigration: Veterans

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 February 2022, HCWS624 on Outcome of Public Consultation on Settlement Fees for Non-UK Service Personnel, whether a fee waiver will be introduced and apply retrospectively to non-UK veterans who are currently living in the UK who have not regularised their immigration status and had served for at least six years or had been discharged due to an illness or injury which was attributable to service.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immigration: Veterans

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 February 2022, HCWS624 on Outcome of Public Consultation on Settlement Fees for Non-UK Service Personnel, when his Department plans to implement changes to immigration rules.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immigration: Veterans

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 February 2022, HCWS624 on Outcome of Public Consultation on Settlement Fees for Non-UK Service Personnel, whether a fee waiver will be introduced and apply to non-UK veterans who are living outside the UK and who have not regularised their immigration status and had served for at least six years or had been discharged due to an illness or injury which was attributable to service.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Second Homes: Refugees

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to encourage (a) landlords and owners of (i) holiday let and (ii) second home owners to make their properties available to incoming refugees.

Tom Pursglove: Accommodation for refugees is offered by Local Authorities. Before committing to offering resettlement places a local authority should think about whether they have, or are able to put in place, the accommodation, infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure the appropriate care and integration of people in need of our help.We work on a daily basis with local government to ensure we meet our international and statutory obligations to provide accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees, encourage greater participation, and to understand and address reasons for not doing so.The current global pandemic, an increased influx of small boat arrivals and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has presented us with significant challenges when it comes to the provision of asylum accommodation. During these unprecedented times, the Home Office acted quickly to source contingency accommodation, including several hotels and former MoD sites, to create additional capacity to ensure our obligations can continue to be met in full. The accommodation at Napier was set up in response to these enormous pressures placed on our asylum system. These pressures remain, and we will continue our use of Napier Barracks as contingency asylum accommodation until March 2025. The New Plan for Immigration includes proposals to introduce new asylum accommodation centres to provide accommodation and support while processing the claims of asylum seekers. Accommodation Centres will ensure that asylum seekers can be provided with basic, safe and secure accommodation while their claims are processed. The Home Secretary recently announced a humanitarian sponsorship pathway, which will provide those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine with a route to the UK. Under the scheme, sponsor groups – which may include those who have capacity to accommodate people in their properties - will provide housing and integration support to those eligible.

Joram Nechironga

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure the safety and well-being of Joram Nechironga.

Tom Pursglove: We do not routinely comment on individual cases but those being deported or removed will have been provided with the opportunity to raise claims prior to their deportation. All claims raised are fully considered and decided upon before deportation including, where applicable, via the Courts.It is fact that we see a large number of last-minute legal claims from those who are detained for these flights and to ensure that we are meeting our lawful obligations, we must ensure that we carefully consider those claims fully before removal. That does not mean the initial decision to detain them was wrong or that they have a right to remain in the UK. Our country policy and information notes are published on the gov.uk website. They are kept under constant review and updated periodically.Zimbabwe: country policy and information notes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Mental Health

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of being held in immigration detention centres on the mental health of asylum seekers who have experienced (a) rape, (b) torture and (c) war.

Tom Pursglove: There is no exemption from immigration detention for any particular group. However, we fully accept that some groups of individuals can be at particular risk of harm in immigration detention. This is the basis of the Adults at Risk in immigration detention (AAR) policy, which strengthens the presumption against detention for vulnerable individuals.The policy covers a wide range of vulnerabilities and includes people who suffer from a mental health condition. It enables Home Office staff to promptly identify whether a person is vulnerable and consequently whether they should be detained. Under the policy, vulnerable people will be detained only when the evidence of vulnerability in their particular case is outweighed by the immigration considerations, including immigration compliance, criminality factors and expected date of removal. The published Detention Services Order on Gov.uk supplements the statutory AAR policy, setting out operational guidance for all Home Office, centre supplier and healthcare staff working in the immigration removal estate on the care and management of adults in detention who are identified as being at risk.Additional safeguards are also in place for those in detention displaying such vulnerabilities, including regular reviews of detention and reporting mechanisms, such as Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 and Rule 32 of the Short-Term Holding Facility Rules 2018, to ensure that particularly vulnerable individuals are brought to the attention of those with direct responsibility for authorising, maintaining and reviewing detention.All immigration removal centres (IRC) have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses which are managed by the NHS or appropriate providers and deliver trauma informed mental health service, where appropriate. In addition to published guidance, staff at all centres are also given training and support to proactively identify and act upon indicators of vulnerability at the earliest opportunity. Welfare teams are onsite at every IRC to assist detained individuals in accessing support specific to their needs.

Cycling: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to certify that the police in London enforce the rules for cyclists in The Highway Code to the same standard applied to motorised vehicles.

Kit Malthouse: It is important that cyclists know that the rules of the Highway Code and road traffic law apply equally to them as they do to other road users.Enforcement of road traffic laws in London, including cycling offences, is an operational matter for both the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police in conjunction with their local policing plans.

Home Office: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if she will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Kit Malthouse: There are currently 19 formal staff support networks, managed by staff, across the Home Office, listed below.A:gender Support NetworkABLE - the Home Office's disability networkBreak the stigma - support group for staff affected by mental health issuesEU Nationals Network (EUNN)Ethos - Home Office sports and social associationHome Office Christian NetworkHome Office Hindu ConnectionHome Office Islamic NetworkHome Office Jewish Network (J-Net)Home Office Sikh AssociationGender Equality NetworkGiving Back (GB) NetworkHome Office Retired and Reunited Staff Association (HORSA)Spectrum: Home Office lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) staff support networkStand 2 Support (veterans group)The NetworkTrade unionsWorking Through Cancer NetworkCarers' Group (Her Majesty's Passport Office)UKVI Parental NetworkHowever, to retrieve all staff networks and social clubs operating in the Home Office, as well as their budgets and FTE staff time for each group can only be achieved with disproportionate effort.

Private Rented Housing: Sexual Offences

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to CPS guidance, Prostitution and Exploitation of Prostitution, revised on 4 January 2019, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that a victim of a sex for rent offence is not defined as a prostitute by prosecuting authorities.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is clear that exploitation through ‘sex for rent’ has no place in our society. There are two offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which can, and have, been used to successfully prosecute this practice the section 52 offence of causing or inciting prostitution for gain and the section 53 offence of controlling prostitution for gain). In January 2021, the CPS authorised the first charge for ‘sex for rent’ allegations under section 52. The individual against whom these allegations were made pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting prostitution for gain earlier this year.Anyone making a report to the police would benefit from the anonymity provisions within the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992.We recognise the need to stamp out this abhorrent practice and support those at risk of exploitation. We have already taken action around this to ensure prosecutors are clear on the law. In 2019 the CPS amended their guidance on ‘Prostitution and Exploitation of Prostitution’ to include specific reference to the potential availability of charges for offences under sections 52 and 53 for ‘sex for rent’ arrangements.In addition, we recognise the importance of preventing individuals being exploited through this practice. To better protect tenants from rogue landlords who have been convicted of certain criminal offences, we introduced banning orders through the Housing and Planning Act 2016 – these orders prohibits named individuals from engaging in letting and property management work.We are committed to ensuring we have the right measures in place to tackle this practice. As we made clear during the debate at Commons Consideration of Lords amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, we will be launching a consultation before summer recess on the issue of sex for rent, including the effectiveness of existing legislation. This would provide a useful opportunity to work with the police, CPS and others (including victims) to better understand this issue and the effectiveness of the current law, the case for a bespoke offence and whether further measures may be beneficial. It will also be important to ensure that any bespoke offence worked with both the Online Safety Bill provisions and the existing prostitution offences.

Housing: Refugees

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will conduct an audit of vacant public estate and accommodation to assess whether it can be repurposed as accommodation for refugees.

Tom Pursglove: We work on a daily basis with local government to ensure we meet our international and statutory obligations to provide accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees.Accommodation for refugees is offered by local authorities. Before committing to offering resettlement places a local authority should think about whether they have, or are able to put in place, the accommodation, infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure the appropriate care and integration of people in need of our help.We are in regular dialogue with local authorities to encourage greater participation, and to understand and address reasons for not doing so.For those seeking accommodation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizen’s Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), DLUHC have created a new Housing Portal to make it easier for councils to assess the suitability of properties prior to contacting landlords. Offers of property are triaged by DLUHC and sent directly to councils. We are also looking at ways to make more suitable homes available in the private rental sector by engaging with landlords, letting agencies and industry bodies to promote the housing portal and encourage participation in the resettlement programme. We are also working with the estate agent, Rightmove, to identify potential properties available in the private rental sector.The Home Secretary recently announced a humanitarian sponsorship pathway, which will provide those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine with a route to the UK. Under the scheme, sponsor groups will provide housing and integration support to those eligible.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

European Regional Development Fund: Worcestershire

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much European Regional Development Fund money has been spent in Worcestershire in each of the last five financial years.

Neil O'Brien: The table below sets out the money spent in Worcestershire arising from investments contracted to deliver activity specifically in the area.  17/1818/1919/2020/2121/22**TotalWorcestershire£1,172,492£2,896,209£2,370,255£2,102,926£3,000,432£11,542,314 **only up to end Jan Q1Worcestershire will have also benefited from activity arising from contracts covering larger geographies. The Department’s ERDF database does not record spend from these contracts at local geographies such as Worcestershire.

Private Rented Housing: Equity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to encourage landlords to offer housing credits or equity in the housing that they are renting to tenants.

Eddie Hughes: We have not made an assessment of this. We are committed to giving tenants in the private rented sector greater security and will be publishing a White Paper later this Spring to set out more details on how we will abolish section 21 evictions that allow a landlord to evict a tenant without providing a reason.

Social Services

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of adult social care in meeting local need; and what recent steps his Department has taken to help assist local authorities in providing (a) funding and (b) staff for adult social care.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government recognises the funding challenges facing local authorities. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.7 billion to councils, including funding for adult social care reforms. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4.5% in real terms and will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services, including adult social care. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021-22 to up to £54.1 billion in 2022-23 and local authorities can make use of over £1 billion of additional resource specifically for social care in 2022-23 through this Settlement.The Government has provided an additional £462.5 million to boost recruitment and support existing care work through the winter and we have committed at least £500 million over the next three years to develop and support the workforce. In addition, an increase in the rate of the National Living Wage will mean many of the lowest paid care workers will benefit from a 6.6% pay rise effective from 1 April.The latest phase of the Government’s National Adult Social Care Recruitment Campaign launched on 3 November across broadcast and social media, promoting the rewarding and stimulating roles in adult social care. The campaign will run until 31 March 2022.

Local Government: Remote Meetings

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what representations he has received on the instructions to local councils not to hold council meetings remotely; and if he will make a statement.

Kemi Badenoch: A Call for Evidence on remote meetings was conducted from 25 March to 17 June 2021 to inform consideration of permanent provisions.  The responses to the Call for Evidence have been reviewed and Government will respond shortly.

Political Parties: Finance

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to figures from the Electoral Commission released on 2 March 2022 recording the Conservative Party received £80,000 from Lubov Chernukhin in the last quarter, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of donations to political parties.

Kemi Badenoch: UK electoral law already sets out a stringent regime of donations controls that bans foreign donations. Individuals must be on the UK electoral roll to make political donations; in the case of companies, they must be properly carrying on business in the UK. The Government is strengthening the corporate transparency regime to ensure this is the case.Reportable donations are overseen by the Electoral Commission. If the Hon. Member has a query relating to its operational policy and guidance on permissible donations, she may wish to ask a question via the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission.More broadly, I would make the following observation: there are people in this country of Russian origin who are British citizens. Many are critics of Putin and have condemned his invasion of Ukraine. It is completely wrong and discriminatory to tar them all with the same brush because of their family background or past nationality.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Eddie Hughes: (a) Across the Civil Service, employee networks provide a valuable support structure for staff. They promote activities that open up opportunities in the Civil Service for talented civil servants and prospective civil servants, and encourage team working and an inclusive work culture. The department has a number of voluntary staff networks in place which are focussed on inclusion, equalities, and welfare. These networks plays an important role in reviewing and improving the working conditions, policies, and processes that affect our diverse workforce, and membership is entirely voluntary. There are currently 14 staff networks officially recognised by the department, however we do not consider these networks to be ‘professional’ by distinction as they are not linked to professional or functional areas. The Department does not hold a central record of any other professional networks established by its staff, professional, or functional areas (b) Social clubs established by and for officials working in the Department are in the private and personal interest of its members, and as such a central record of this information is not readily available. The only exception is the sports and recreation association (SPARTA), which is jointly ran by DLUHC and DFT. SPARTA is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to promote and encourage social and recreational activities these departments (c) Social clubs, which are entirely in the personal and private interests of its members, would not be allocated any FTE staff time or budgets. SPARTA members are asked to make a small contribution each month to support with the delivery or the organisation’s programmes and activities.

Private Rented Housing: Evictions

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to reform Ground 8 of the 1988 Housing Act; and if he will make a statement.

Eddie Hughes: The Government is committed to delivering a better deal for renters and abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, alongside strengthening the section 8 grounds for possession so that landlords can get their property back when they have a valid reason to do so. Our 2019 consultation ‘A New Deal for Renting’ sought views on how the new grounds, including ground 8, should operate following the abolition of section 21. This received almost 20,000 responses, which we are carefully considering as we develop our response.We are also undertaking extensive engagement with stakeholders to inform our plans, ahead of publishing a White Paper this Spring. The White Paper will set out proposals to create a fairer private rented sector and we will bring forward legislation in due course and when parliamentary time allows.

Housing: Older People

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to increase housing security for retired pensioners.

Eddie Hughes: The Department is committed to ensuring older people can live in the right kind of homes that suit their needs, in places where they want to live. A new government taskforce, as announced in the Levelling Up White Paper, will look at the ways we can provide greater security, choice and quality of housing for older people. Further details on the scope of the taskforce work will be confirmed in due course.The Department will also publish a White Paper this Spring, which will set out proposals to create a fairer private rented sector and we will bring forward legislation in due course. We recognise that the change in size and makeup of the private rented sector, with an increasing number of older people now renting their homes, means there is a growing need for longer and more stable tenancies. As part of the package of reforms, we intend to repeal Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to improve security for tenants by putting an end to evictions where the landlord does not have to give a reason.We will also give consideration to the impact of our reforms on people with protected characteristics, including the impact on older people.

Refugees: Ukraine

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an estimate of the maximum number of refugees from Ukraine that the UK can accommodate.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the answers given here.

Holiday Accommodation and Second Homes: Refugees

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to encourage owners of holiday lets and second homes to provide temporary accommodation for refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine who require settlement.

Eddie Hughes: The Government has set up an online portal to allow people to submit offers of housing for people arriving from Afghanistan, and encourage people with available properties to offer these via gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-housing-portal-offers-of-support.Further to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, details of the sponsorship scheme for Ukraine will be set out in due course.

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help families wanting to host Ukrainian refugees in their homes.

Eddie Hughes: Further to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, details of the sponsorship scheme for Ukraine will be set out in due course.

Housing: Refugees

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to ensure that all public housing is available for the resettlement of Ukrainian / Afghan refugees if not allocated to urgent local housing need.

Eddie Hughes: We are encouraging all councils to work alongside us to provide accommodation and support for Afghans in need of our compassion and support to rebuild their lives in the UK Further to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, details of the sponsorship scheme for Ukraine will be set out in due course.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Worcestershire

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much Shared Prosperity Fund money he plans to allocate to Worcestershire in each of the next three financial years.

Neil O'Brien: All areas of the UK will be receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula rather than a competition. This recognises that even the most affluent parts of the UK contain pockets of deprivation and need support.UK-wide, funding for the UKSPF will ramp up to £1.5 billion per year by March 2025. Alongside commitments to support regional finance funds across the UK via the British Business Bank, this upholds the UK government’s commitment to match EU structural fund receipts for each nation.The Government will publish a full Prospectus on the Fund which will include allocations later in Spring 2022.

Tree Preservation Orders

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps local authorities can take to efficiently remove dangerous trees that are subject to Tree Protection Orders.

Stuart Andrew: Local authorities can remove dangerous trees subject to Tree Preservation Orders.If a tree presents an immediate risk of serious harm, requiring urgent work, the work can be undertaken without needing to apply for consent.Alternatively, the local authority can revoke the Tree Preservation Order (as set out in the regulations). The tree is then no longer protected so can be removed.

Green Belt

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the decision of the Planning Inspector of 14 June 2021 on the Roundhouse Farm development, whether the National Planning Policy Framework will include explicit protections for the green belt.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the decision of the Planning Inspector of 14 June 2021 on the Roundhouse Farm development, appeals reference APP/B1930/W/20/3265925, that states that this provision has not been incorporated with the Framework which has subsequently been updated, and similar guidance within the Planning Practice Guidance has been removed, on what date the guidance protecting the greenbelt was removed.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is firmly committed to protecting and enhancing the Green Belt, in line with our manifesto.  The National Planning Policy Framework already provides strong protections for the Green Belt. It states that inappropriate development on Green Belt land should be refused planning permission unless it is justified by very special circumstances. Moreover, local authorities may not alter the boundaries of Green Belt land unless in exceptional circumstances, using the local plan process.  A local authority should consider releasing land from Green Belt only if it can be fully evidenced that it has explored all other reasonable options for meeting its development needs. This includes using suitable brownfield land for development.Due to the Secretary of State's quasi-judicial role in the planning system, the Department cannot comment on specific local planning matters. The reasons for the conclusions reached in this case by the Planning Inspector are set out in full in the decision letter of 14 June 2021, which is publicly available online.  Decisions may be challenged by making an application for permission to the High Court within 6 weeks from the date of the decision.

Community Development: Departmental Coordination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with the (a) Secretary of State for Transport and (n) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to build sustainable, well connected and well balanced communities.

Stuart Andrew: We have taken a number of steps to encourage building sustainable, well-connected, and balanced communities through the planning system. We have set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. Our NPPF explains that achieving sustainable development means the planning system has three overarching objectives, which are interdependent and need to be pursued in mutually supportive ways. This includes an economic objective to help build a strong, responsive and competitive economy; a social objective to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities; and an environmental objective to protect and enhance our natural, built and historic environment. We expect planning policies and decisions to aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places which promote social interaction; are safe and accessible; and which enable and support healthy lifestyles.As part of our wider ambitions for an improved planning system, we intend to review the NPPF to ensure that it contributes to sustainable development as fully as possible. I would like to assure my Hon member that we have been and will continue to work closely with our ministerial colleagues including the Secretary of State for Transport, and for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on any future review of national planning policy.

Housing: Construction

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to introduce legal responsibility for housing developers to ensure that all newly built homes are adequately protected from flooding.

Stuart Andrew: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Where development is necessary, it should be made safe and resilient - and without increasing flood risk elsewhere. Policies in the NPPF must be taken into account in preparing the local authority's development plan, and are a material consideration in planning decisions.In addition, statutory guidance to the Building Regulations in Approved Document C already promotes the use of flood resilient and resistant construction in flood prone areas.The Building Regulations also set requirements for the rainwater and surface water drainage of individual buildings under Part H of the Regulations. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the sewerage undertaker for an area, for example Yorkshire Water, to ensure drainage systems for new developments are built to a resilient standard which minimises flooding.

Nature Conservation: Urban Areas

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that any forthcoming planning bill also focuses on creating natural and sustainable spaces in urban developments.

Stuart Andrew: The Government's recently published Levelling Up White Paper referenced some of our ambitions for changes to the planning system, noting that planning is critical to deliver on our objective of levelling up. The White Paper made specific reference to ensuring that natural beauty is accessible to all which will be central to our planning system, with improved Green Belts around towns and cities, supported by Local Nature Recovery Strategies reflected in plan making and woodland creation supported across the UK. The timing, scope and content of any legislation required to deliver these changes is under consideration, and further detail will be shared in due course.The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by providing net gains where possible, ahead of mandatory biodiversity net gain next year, and acknowledges the importance that green and open space make to achieving sustainable development.As part of our wider ambitions for an improved planning system we intend to review the NPPF to ensure that it contributes to sustainable development as fully as possible.

Northern Ireland Office

Question

Sam Tarry: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the resignation of the Northern Ireland First Minister.

Brandon Lewis: I speak regularly to Cabinet colleagues on the implications of the Northern Ireland First Minister’s resignation. The Government is united around the ambition to deliver a strong, functioning Executive delivering a better, more prosperous, shared future for all the people of Northern Ireland.

Question

Jim Shannon: What recent discussions he has had with (a) the Northern Ireland Executive and (b) Cabinet colleagues on the effect of Operation Rescript on healthcare facilities in Northern Ireland.

Conor Burns: As part of Operation Rescript, the Government responded to requests for the military to provide medical assistance to all parts of the UK during the pandemic. Throughout this process, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was in regular contact with the Northern Ireland Health Minister and his Cabinet colleagues. This assistance has been recognised by the Minister and healthcare staff as vital in order to continue treating patients in Northern Ireland.

Question

Chris Elmore: What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of resources for women's services in Northern Ireland.

Brandon Lewis: It is the Northern Ireland Executive that has failed to deliver adequate funding for women’s services. The Government supports any work undertaken in Northern Ireland to empower women and tackle issues which disproportionately affect women. Women and girls in Northern Ireland must have the same access to healthcare as those in the rest of the UK, and I am considering all options available to the Government to achieve this.

Department for International Trade

Sanctions: Russia

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what support (a) is available and (b) her Department plans to provide to UK businesses affected by (i) export and (ii) other sanctions on Russian industries and individuals.

Mike Freer: The situation will continue to change over the coming days and weeks. The Department for International Trade stands ready and continues to assess the support provided to UK businesses. The Department has expanded the Export Support Service to help businesses deal with the trade implications of the situation. This is available through our Digital Enquiry Service (https://www.gov.uk/ask-export-support-team) and helpline (0300 303 8955), currently open Mon-Fri 0800-2200.

UK Export Finance: Russia

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2022 to Question 131130, on UK Export Finance: Russia, how much of the remaining exposure relates to the underwriting of credit for (a) VEB Leasing, (b) JSC Lebedinsky or (c) SUEK; and which providers of credit UK Export Finance will be liable for the unpaid debts in the event that any of those buyers default on their loans.

Mike Freer: UK Export Finance (UKEF) does not release details of outstanding exposure on individual transactions for reasons of commercial sensitivity. UKEF follows robust due diligence processes before providing support for any transaction.

Trade Agreements: Japan

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 175773, who was responsible for deciding which 38 UK products among the 77 provided to the Japanese authorities on 30 April 2021 should go through Japan's procedures for the designation of geographical indications during the first tranche; and how those decisions were made.

Penny Mordaunt: On 30 April 2021 the UK shared a list of 77 UK geographical indications (GIs) with Japan. Due to the large number of GIs, Japan requested they be split into two batches to facilitate the necessary domestic procedures in Japan. All 77 GIs will undergo procedures in Japan. The 38 GIs were selected following consultations with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and a range of stakeholders. The selection took into consideration the views of devolved administrations, potential economic value, current export value, judgements on the potential for misuse and the geographic spread of products across the UK.

Wines: Trade Barriers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to reduce global barriers to trade for the wine industry.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: HM Government has established eight British agriculture, food and drink attachés for the growth markets of the Americas, Africa and the Indo-Pacific. They will broaden market access for our food and drink exporters and drive export growth for sectors like the wine industry, which accounted for almost £470 million of British exports in 2021. We are negotiating trade deals and removing barriers to trade faced by the wine industry too. Our Free Trade Agreement with Norway recognises the protected status of certain British products, meaning that consumers in Norway can continue to enjoy iconic products – like English Sparkling Wine – with the confidence it is both genuine and of the high quality we know and love.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

People's Postcode Lottery

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had recent discussions with the People's Postcode Lottery on that organisation's campaign to raise the charity lottery annual sales limit to £100 million.

Chris Philp: All ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK and can be accessed on the website.DCMS officials meet regularly with society lottery operators to hear their views on the sector and discuss any key areas of concern. Their most recent meeting with the People’s Postcode Lottery was held on 26 January 2022 to discuss the review of the increases to society lottery sales and prize limits implemented in 2020.

National Lottery

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of (a) projected funds raised for good causes by the National Lottery and (b) actual funds raised by that organisation in the last bid period.

Chris Philp: The Gambling Commission provides DCMS and the Lottery Distributing Bodies with good cause forecasts updated on a six-monthly basis to assist them with their grant planning. The forecast is presented as a range, with low, high and central scenarios. The modelling approach is regularly refined to ensure the forecasts remain as accurate as possible. We do not publish this information given commercial sensitivities.Actual good cause returns are published in the National Lottery Distribution Fund Annual Report and Accounts and can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if she will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Julia Lopez: (a) DCMS has the following staff networks:Ability Network (Beyond Disability)Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) NetworkCarers NetworkDirect Appointee NetworkEU Nationals NetworkFaith and Belief NetworkFair Treatment AmbassadorsFlexible Working and Job Share NetworkGender Equality NetworkGrade B Network (HEO / SEO Grade equivalent)Grade C&D Network (AO & EO Grade equivalent)Green NetworkIdeas Panel NetworkLGBT+ NetworkMental Health and Wellbeing NetworkNew Joiner NetworkNorth NetworkParenting Network GroupSocial Mobility NetworkSouth West NetworkVolunteering Network(b) The Sports and Social Network is a Network for all staff to access and organise sport and social activity in DCMS. The social clubs that currently operate within this network include:ChoirFootball teams:London Men’s teamLondon Women's teamManchester teamNetballFilm ClubBook ClubBake ClubBoard GamesMeditation Club(i) Budgets allocated to each group within each of the last three yearsThe annual budget allocated to all network activity is £10,000. This has been the same for the past three years. Networks are able to access funding on a case by case basis for events or training.(ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three yearsFTE staff are not allocated to networks, the role of network chair is a voluntary role and as such the time they allocate to each network is not recorded or reported upon. As part of the DCMS ‘business deal’ for network chairs, in agreement with line management and subject to business need, 10% of the network chair’s working hours can be allocated to network activity increasing to up to 20% in periods of high demand.

BBC World Service: Hungary and Poland

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the (a) balance of and (b) level of input from (i) Open Society Foundation and (ii) other NGOs on BBC World's coverage of (A) Poland and (B) Hungary.

Julia Lopez: The Government recognises the vital role that the BBC, including the World Service, plays across the globe. However, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from the government and the government cannot intervene in the BBC’s day-to-day operations, including its editorial decisions.The BBC has a duty to deliver impartial and accurate news coverage and content under its Royal Charter. It is for the BBC Board to ensure the quality of all BBC’s content, and that BBC output meets the highest standards the public expects.

Women and Equalities

Government Equalities Office: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if he will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if he will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Kemi Badenoch: The Equality Hub is part of the Cabinet Office, therefore I refer the hon. Member to the answer to PQ 132385.